A song or psalm of Asaph, the last of
his twelve hymns in the psalter, picturing the craft and rage of the enemies and
invoking Godís speedy destruction upon them. V. 1. Keep not Thou silence,
content with resting, with being an idle spectator, O God; hold not Thy peace
and be not still, O God, that is, inactive while such great dangers were
threatening. V. 2. For, lo, Thine enemies (the enemies of the Church are
Godís enemies) make a tumult; and they that hate Thee have lifted up the
head, in haughty pride and arrogance. V. 3. They have taken crafty
counsel, laying their plans in secret and with guile, against Thy people,
primarily Israel, but as typical of the spiritual Israel, and consulted
against Thy hidden ones, the number of true believers always being so small,
by comparison, that they disappear in the great mass of humanity, while,
nevertheless. God protects them. V. 4. They have said, Come and let us cut
them off from being a nation, exterminating them from among the nations, that
the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance, the annihilation, as
planned by them, being so complete that the very name of Godís people would be
forgotten in history. V. 5. For they have consulted together with one
consent, their hearts and minds all being of the same opinion and purpose; they
are confederate against Thee, their covenant against Israel being in reality
a covenant against the God of Israel; v. 6. the tabernacles of Edom, that
is, all the nomadic tribes belonging to this nation, and the Ishmaelites; of
Moab and the Hagarenes, who roamed from the Persian Gulf to the desert
country east of Gilead; v. 7. Gebal, the northern part of the mountains
of Seir and therefore pertaining to Edom, and Ammon, Israelís ancient
enemy east of Gilead, and Amalek, the last remnants of the desert tribe
living within the territory of Edom or in remote parts of the Desert of Paran; the
Philistines, on the Mediterranean, toward the southwest, with the
inhabitants of Tyre, the Phenician nation; v. 8. Assur also is joined
with them, the great kingdom of Assyria, which at that time had not yet
reached the summit of its power; they have holpen the children of Lot,
entered into an alliance with the Moabites and the Ammonites. Selah.
Practically all the heathen nations surrounding Canaan were directly or
indirectly interested in this plan of annihilating Israel, even as enemies of
every description nowadays unite when the object of the confederacy is to fight
the true Church. V. 9. Do unto them as unto the Midianites, who were
practically annihilated at the time of Gideon, Judg. 7; 8, 11. 12; as to
Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison, at the time of Deborah and Barak,
Judg. 4, v. 10. which perished at Endor, a town on the northern edge of
the Plain of Jezreel, for it was there that the battle against the host of the
Canaanites took place; they became as dung for the earth, their decaying
carcasses forming manure, fertilizer, for the soil of Canaan. V. 11. Make
their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, the two princes of the Midianites
slain at the time of Gideon, Judg. 7, 25; yea, all their princes as Zebah,
and as Zalmunna, slain by Gideon after their armies had been defeated, Judg.
8, 10-21; v. 12 who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in
possession, they had intended to overthrow the true religion. V. 13. O my
God, make them like a wheel, like a whirlwind and whatever is carried away
by a tornado, as the stubble before the wind, disappearing without
leaving a trace behind. V. 14. As the fire burneth a wood, great forests
being devoured in a short time, and as the flame setteth the mountains on
fire, the mountains themselves melting. away with their woody covering
before the flame of Godís wrath, v. 15, so persecute them with Thy tempest
and make them afraid, completely overthrowing them, with Thy storm. V.
16. Fill their faces with shame, disgrace being heaped upon them by their
overthrow, that they may seek Thy name, O Lord, acknowledging the
exclusive divinity of Jehovah, whether willingly or under compulsion. V. 17.
Let them be confounded, heaped with shame, and troubled, overthrown, forever;
yea, let them be put to shame, and perish, fully convinced of their own
vanity and that of their false gods, v. 18. that men may know that Thou,
whose name alone is JEHOVAH, the God of revelation, art the most high
over all the earth, admitted as such either in fear or in faith. Cp. Is. 31,
16-20; 2 Kings 19, 19. That is the comfort of the believers of all times, that
the true God will, in the end, be revealed before all men, to their utter
confusion and to His own glorification, as the most high God.